High-Aspect-Ratio Nanostructured Surfaces as Biological Metamaterials

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials science
• Cellular biophysics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Materials with high-aspect-ratio nanostructures possess features comparable to cellular components.
• These nanostructured surfaces represent extreme topographies at the cellular level, serving as tools for perturbing and sensing the cellular environment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the applications of high-aspect-ratio nanostructured surfaces in stimulating and sensing biological systems.
• To explore the potential of these nanostructures in cargo delivery, intracellular access, and cell behavior control.
• To discuss the growing interest in interfacing these structures with non-animal and prokaryotic cells.

Main Methods:

• Review of experimental and theoretical studies on cell-nanostructure interactions.
• Analysis of how nanoscale structure design influences biological responses.
• Focus on the cell-nanostructure interface for mechanistic understanding.

Main Results:

• High-aspect-ratio nanostructures can deliver cargoes, access intracellular environments, and control cell behavior.
• These structures perturb cellular force sensing, influencing cell fate and enabling mechanistic studies.
• Designed nanostructures act as biological metamaterials, eliciting unique biological responses.

Conclusions:

• High-aspect-ratio nanostructured surfaces are versatile tools for biological research, offering new ways to interface with and study cells.
• Understanding the cell-nanostructure interface is key to harnessing their full potential.
• Future research is expanding to include non-animal and prokaryotic cell systems.